After a few years of flirting with "emerging" markets that have now retreated into obscurity, British buyers are tentatively dipping a toe into overseas property again. But this time we are sticking resolutely to what we know and there are few places more familiar and safe than France.

"The big news is the Brits are back," announces Paul Humphreys from Knight Frank's French department. "It's a good time to buy. French property prices have fallen and there's a nice supply of good-quality properties at the right price on the market, in places we've always had love affairs with, such as Gascony and the Dordogne."

More than 70 per cent of Knight Frank's enquiries for France so far this year have been from Britons with the greatest interest in the south, south west and the Alps.

"The Paris market will come alive in springtime. Now is ski season, but prospective buyers are starting to come down from the Alps into the south of France to sniff around," Paul adds.

Besides the country's aesthetic charms – the vineyards and châteaux, the food, culture and countryside – France rates highly on practical points, too. Its proximity (good for the growing band of airport-haters who prefer to drive or take the train), international appeal (a bonus for holiday lets), weather (who isn't dreaming of sunshine right now?) and a weakening euro are all helping to rekindle our love of our nearest neighbour.

"It feels as though people are returning to old values. Better the devil you know," says Patricia Fevrier, director of newbuild specialist A Place in France.

So what are the top five French regions that we are rediscovering?

1 Gascony and the Dordogne

"The Dordogne is as the British imagine the countryside should be," says Harris Raphael from Pioneer France, who attributes its continuing appeal to its beautiful, relaxed setting – with rivers and bastide market towns – and a southern French climate without the coastal crowds. "We've seen an increase in enquiries and sales since the end of late 2009, mainly families with children looking for a holiday home and couples in their fifties thinking of retirement in a few years," Harris adds.

Knight Frank reports interest from commuters seeking a family home in France, where the husband can fly back from Bergerac or Bordeaux airports to an office in London.

The grandiose 12-bedroom Château La Tuque on the banks of the Dordogne might suit those planning to make the move in style. It's on sale for £2.17 million through Knight Frank. Local agency Pioneer France also has some classic châteaux on its books, including a 17th-century mansion with 16 bedrooms in Sarlat, set in 20 hectares, for £5.08 million.

They also have more affordable propositions, including a restored three-bedroom house near Belves, in honey-coloured stone, with a large double-volume stone barn, new heated pool and outstanding views, for £308,000.

If the Dordogne seems relaxed, you should see Gascony which is all about its slow pace (it clearly works – Gascony residents live longer than anyone else in Europe, attributable to the relaxed lifestyle and the Madiran red wines).

There are rolling fields against a backdrop of the Pyrenees and market towns that evoke Tuscany or the Cotswolds – only with cheaper properties. "There's a Spanish influence, with bullfighting in some towns, and an Alpine feel, too," says Paul Humphreys, who is marketing the region's landmark Château d'Arricau-Bordes near Pau, once owned by the musketeer d'Artagnan. "It's on sale for £3.18 million, which would buy you a five-bed villa in the south of France, not a piece of history like this."

Interest from prospective buyers is returning to pre-credit crunch levels, says Ian Purslow from Purslows Gascony estate agents, "and unlike the Dordogne, where you will hear nothing but English voices in some villages, buyers in Gascony spread themselves thinly across the region," he says.

But they still like to recreate elements of English life abroad. "It's a good climate for gardening, which you can't often do in Provence and there's the English prep school Château de Sauveterre, an outpost of Cothill House in Oxfordshire, which attracts families to the area," Purslow says.

For those thinking of relocating, a budget of £500,000 will buy a restored farmhouse with a pool in a market town such as Marciac (famous for its summer jazz festival), Vic-Fezensac or Mauvezin.

2 The Loire

For many, this is quintessential France, a land of rivers, châteaux, gastronomy and golf. The Loire is home to the well-known Les Bordes course in Orleans, ranked the second-best golf course in Europe.

A 15-minute drive away in the Loire valley, set around the region's oldest course, is Golf de Sologne, a new development on a 180-acre estate with a 19th-century château that is seeing a £2 million conversion into a private members' club, restaurant and 10 apartments costing from £122,000. New cottages from £135,000 and villas (prices to be released) are also being built in the grounds.

"It appeals to younger families as it's a lovely, safe estate with brand-new properties that you can buy on a leaseback basis with guaranteed rental returns," says Robert Green from Cluttons Resorts, which are marketing Golf de Sologne.

Also key to the Loire's allure is its proximity to Paris, 90 minutes by train at present but soon to be 35 minutes via a new fast link. "People who buy in the Loire are not looking for 320 days of Mediterranean sunshine or beaches. They want wine, architecture, history and they like being near Paris," says Roddy Aris from Winkworth France.

If a historic château, ranging from £1 million to £6 million, is a little over-budget, you can buy a beautiful five-bedroom country house in Sarthe, with landscaped gardens and vineyards, for £338,000 through Winkworth France.

3 Cote d'Azur

Property prices on the coast fell by about 15 per cent last year, but St Tropez remains the most robust of resorts, with planning laws banning building within 300 metres of the sea constraining supply. The investment-minded head to Nice, where sales to English buyers so far this year have included a £450,000 studio flat on the Promenade des Anglais, purely for high-end corporate lets and a small holiday flat in the Musicians Quarter for £225,000, reports Kirkor Ajderhanyan from Agency 107 Promenade.

"We're seeing a mixture of Brits with seemingly bottomless pockets looking for sea-view properties ranging from £150,000 to a few million all along the coast, while investors are looking for reductions and properties with great rental potential," he adds.

Patricia Fevrier from A Place in France adds that buyers want the certainty of a resale market, a given on the Cote d'Azur. "French buyers are particularly fond of newbuild properties," Fevrier says. "Buyers also want to know they can let out their property if they need to and what yield they will receive, something they didn't consider so vital a few years ago." Nice, adds Fevrier, is particularly popular among those wanting a pied-à-terre with good rental potential. Prices start from £150,000 for small apartments in Nice's old town.

4 Provence

For those who want to be within an easy drive of the Cote d'Azur but pay 20 to 30 per cent less for their property, Provence still has some pockets to be exploited by expats. "The housing stock has a sensational quality and the art galleries attract a lot of Parisians and celebrities who don't want to be on the coast," says Paul Humphreys from Knight Frank.

"Prices here fell by about 15 per cent but British buyers began to return inland last year before they did on the coast," says Paul. He adds that most of his clients have budgets of around £700,000 to £1.3 million, enough to afford a three-bedroom villa in Valbonne, in the south of France, or for about £1 million, a small villa outside St Tropez.

Roddy Aris from Winkworth recommends La Garde Freinet, half an hour in the hills behind St Tropez, but refreshingly removed from the super-yacht and Ferrari set. "For £1 million to £2 million you can buy a four to six bedroom house with a few acres of land, great views and lots of privacy, which is hard to find near the coast."

The Marsden family from Wells in Somerset – Bob, a commercial property investor, his wife Lynne and their children Jo, 18, Tom, 17 and Matt, 14 – intend to spend every school holiday in their 300-year-old house in La Garde Freinet, which they bought for £544,000.

Set in a forest hamlet built by monks, the house has three bedrooms, a pool and a wisteria-covered terrace.

"Prices here are about a third of what you would pay in St Tropez and we're away from the coastal traffic, which is horrendous in summer," says Bob, who has been spending holidays in the area for 20 years. "We hesitated about buying, then decided to take the plunge and this was the first property we saw. It was perfect so we bought it immediately," he says.

"It's an investment in terms of lifestyle rather than money as we spend all of our holidays here. It's slightly cooler here than on the coast in summer and much less touristy."

5 French Alps

Britons have returned to the slopes with cash to spend, not just on absurdly-priced cocktails but ski chalets. The Trois Vallées, which includes the ski resorts of Meribel and Courchevel, remain the most popular, but improved infrastructure across the valleys means you can find better value in less glitzy spots and still be within easy reach of prime ski territory.

"In Courchevel 1850, France's first purpose-built ski resort, a new four-bedroom chalet will cost £6 million, but there are lots of former farming villages with different personalities along the valley such as Le Freney, where a four-bedroom chalet on a new eco development costs £650,000," says Matthew Hodder-Williams from Knight Frank.

The Chamonix valley is another eternally-popular spot. "Buyers aren't interested in trailblazing, they want something of real substance," adds Matthew, who says Argentière village is seeing high demand, with plenty of bars and shops and a mix of old village farmhouses and new chalets. A five-bedroom chalet within five minutes walk of Argentière costs £1.5 million through Knight Frank.